]]>A Clarion Project investigation has discovered a jihadist enclave in Texas where a deadly shooting took place in 2002. Declassified FBI documents obtained by Clarion confirm the find and show the U.S. government’s concern about its links to terrorism. The investigation was completed with help from ACT! For America Houston.

The enclave belongs to the network of Muslims of the Americas, a radical group linked to a Pakistani militant group called Jamaat ul-Fuqra. Its members are devoted followers of Sheikh Mubarak Ali Gilani, an extremist cleric in Pakistan.

Muslims of the Americas

The organization says it has a network of 22 “villages” around the U.S., with Islamberg as its main headquarters in New York. Clarion Project obtained secret MOA footage showing female members receiving paramilitary training at Islamberg. It was featured on theKelly File on FOX News Channel in October. A second MOA tapereleased by Clarion shows its spokesman declaring the U.S. to be a Muslim-majority country.

A 2007 FBI record states that MOA members have been involved in at least 10 murders, one disappearance, three firebombings, one attempted firebombing, two explosive bombings and one attempted bombing. It states:

“The documented propensity for violence by this organization supports the belief the leadership of the MOA extols membership to pursue a policy of jihad or holy war against individuals or groups it considers enemies of Islam, which includes the U.S. Government. Members of the MOA are encouraged to travel to Pakistan to receive religious and military/terrorist training from Sheikh Gilani.”

The document also says that, “The MOA is now an autonomous organization which possesses an infrastructure capable of planning and mounting terrorist campaigns overseas and within the U.S.”

Other FBI reports describe the MOA in similar ways, with a 2003 file stating, “Investigation of the Muslims of the Americas is based on specific and articulate facts giving justification to believe they are engaged in international terrorism…”

The MOA compound in Texas, described by the FBI as an “enclave” and “communal living site,” is in Brazoria county along County Road 3 near Sweeny. It was discovered by the FBI due to a tip from an informant in New York.

The MOA referred to its Texas commune as “Mahmoudberg” inonline instructions for a parade in New York in 2010. A posting on an Islamic message board in 2005 advertised a speaking engagement in Houston by someone from Mahmoudberg.

According to the reports, the commune is seven to 10 acres large, is in an “extremely wooded area” and two or three trailer homes moved there in December 2001. However, ACT members visited the area as part of Clarion’s investigation and interviewed one nearby local who confidently said it is closer to 25 acres in size and spoke of a presence dating back to the late 1980s.

“The area is so rural it is quite common for residents to shoot firearms for target practice or hunting on private property without interference from law enforcement,” one FBI report states.

Locals told the ACT members that they haveShells found in the area of MOA’s ‘Mahmoudberg’ enclave in Texas heard gunfire coming from the commune. Pictures of shells from the area are posted to the right:

The FBI reported in 2007 that one commune resident used to be a leader at the MOA commune in Badger, California. The site was called“Baladullah.” In March 2001, one of the Baladullah members was arrested for transporting guns between New York and South Carolina. Another was charged with murdering a police deputy that caught him breaking and entering a home.

Interviewed residents all agreed that the MOA members are private, yet when the ACT members were spotted in the area, they were immediately and repeatedly approached. At one point, a commune resident gave them a final warning to leave, despite the fact that they were not trespassing or harassing MOA members.

“It was definitely very threatening and menacing,” an ACT member told me.

Multiple sources confirmed that one resident of the commune is a police officer. According to a nearby neighbor, one of the MOA members used to drive trucks for the U.S. Army in Kuwait.

The commune is also linked to a non-profit called the Muslim Model Community of Texas. Members travel to Houston to worship at the MOA Dawah Center that is linked to another organization called First Muslims of Texas.

States where Muslims of the Americas enclaves are located

The 2002 Shooting Incident

One of the MOA members was shot and killed by another member on February 7, 2002 between 11-11:30 p.m. according to the FBI documents and a police report.

The victim was Salminma Dawood, also known as Terrance C. Davis III. His death was reportedly an accident, having been shot by another MOA member who “returned gunfire to unknown individuals who were harassing the MOA commune.”

Law enforcement reported encountering about a dozen African-American males at the scene, approximately five of whom lived at the commune. The investigators saw an estimated seven women and children who also resided there.

The police were denied access to the trailer homes and were not allowed to directly interview the women, who covered their faces in their presence. Communication with the women had to be done by passing notes through a male intermediary.

Locals told the ACT members that government investigators had visited the area a few times and the commune residents refused to talk to them. According to one local, two ambulances were denied entry earlier this year until the police intervened. A search of the Brazoria county criminal records shows that two residents of Mahmoudberg were arrested in April 2013 and charged with “interference with public duties.” The trial is pending.

More MOA Activity in Texas

The MOA presence in Texas is not limited to the Mahmoudberg commune near Sweeny. As mentioned, the MOA utilizes a dawah(outreach) center in Houston for activities. The declassified FBI documents show that the extremist group has been in Texas since the 1980s.

On October 11, 1991, a federal search warrant for three suspects was issued after a MOA/Jamaat-ul-Fuqra bomb plot in Toronto was foiled. A nearly 45-acre “compound” about 70 miles south of Dallas was raided. The location may have been near Corsicana, as another FBI document mentions that about seven MOA members purchased property in that area.

The suspects managed to flee on October 5-6 before the raid took place. Their children also suddenly disappeared from school. The feds found four mobile homes, three military, general-purpose tents and six vehicles. Loose ammunition, books on counter-terrorism techniques and weaponry and various items with “Jamaat Fuqra Land” written on them were discovered.

They also found surveillance photos of a post office building and the Greenhead Station in Los Angeles, leading authorities to suspect that attacks on these sites were planned.

MOA activities in Texas continued after the October 1991 raid. TwoFBI documentsfrom 1992 mention that MOA members in the state were using false aliases, social security numbers and birth certificates.

Why is MOA Allowed to Operate?

The FBI documents obtained by Clarion Project clearly identify MOA as a terrorist organization. The Department of Homeland Security privately agreed in 2005, listing Jamaat ul-Fuqra (and specifically MOA) as a possible sponsor of a terrorist attack on the U.S.

So why is MOA/JUF allowed to operate in the country?

The answer is that the State Department has not designated MOA/Jamaat ul-Fuqra as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. The group is thus permitted to organize in the U.S. until that happens. Yet, the State Department has also recognized the group’s terroristic agenda.

In 1998, the State Department’s Patterns of Global Terrorismreportdescribed Jamaat ul-Fuqra as an “Islamic sect that seeks to purify Islam through violence.” It said that Fuqra members engaged in assassinations and bombings in the U.S. in the 1980s and still live in “isolated rural compounds” in the country.

A State Department spokesperson was asked in January 2002 about why MOA stopped appearing in the Department’s annual terrorism reports. The answer was as follows:

“Jamaat ul-Fuqra has never been designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. It was included in several recent annual terrorism reports under ‘other terrorist groups,’ i.e., groups that had carried out acts of terrorism but that were not formally designated by the Secretary of State. However, because of the group’s inactivity during 2000, it was not included in the most recent terrorism report covering that calendar year.”

It has not appeared since. Yet, here we have FBI documents from as late as 2007 discussing the terrorist threat posed by MOA.

It’s long past due that the State Department be forced to address this obvious threat. The State Department must designate Jamaat ul-Fuqra as a Foreign Terrorist Organization before it’s too late

]]>http://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/exclusive-clarion-project-discovers-texas-terror-enclave/feed/0Muslims Express Outrage Over CAIR’s Memorials Day Tweetshttp://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/muslims-express-outrage-over-cairs-memorials-day-tweets
http://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/muslims-express-outrage-over-cairs-memorials-day-tweets#commentsThu, 12 Feb 2015 17:03:01 +0000http://www.ryanmauro.com/?p=180A number of Muslims are expressing their appreciation for U.S. soldiers and their outrage over comments made by Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) officials questioning whether to honor U.S. troops who

]]>A number of Muslims are expressing their appreciation for U.S. soldiers and their outrage over comments made by Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) officials questioning whether to honor U.S. troops who gave their lives in wars they oppose. CAIR officials frequently depict American soldiers as murderers, imperialists and abusers of Muslims.

]]>http://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/muslims-express-outrage-over-cairs-memorials-day-tweets/feed/0Low Oil Prices Make Time Ripe to Pressure a Panicked Iranhttp://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/low-oil-prices-make-time-ripe-pressure-panicked-iran
http://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/low-oil-prices-make-time-ripe-pressure-panicked-iran#commentsThu, 12 Feb 2015 17:01:53 +0000http://www.ryanmauro.com/?p=177The U.S. and Iran failed to meet the November 24 deadline for a nuclear deadline and have yet again agreed to extend negotiationsuntil June 30. The West is missing an

]]>The U.S. and Iran failed to meet the November 24 deadline for a nuclear deadline and have yet again agreed to extend negotiationsuntil June 30. The West is missing an excellent opportunity to pressure Iran as the regime is “panicking” over low oil prices.

In his State of the Union address on January 28, President Obama said he would veto legislation implementing tougher sanctions on Iran during these talks but “if Iran’s leaders do not seize this opportunity, then I will be the first to call for more sanctions.”

The International Atomic Energy Agency said in September that Iran had failed to meet two obligations to ensure that its nuclear program is not for building weapons. Access continues to be denied to the Parchin site where it is believed that Iran worked on nuclear warheads and the “trigger” for nuclear explosions.

Iran continues to test newer centrifuges to speed up the uranium enrichment process and vows never to dismantle a single nuclear facility or centrifuge. All of this goes on as Supreme Leader Khameneibrags of his regime’s support for Hezbollah, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, emphasizing that it is willing to support both Sunni and Shiite terrorists.

Yet, in response, Iran has been given another seven months by the international community to avoid harsher sanctions. The regime will also have access to $700 million per month in unfrozen assets and be able to entice Western businesses, especially those from Europe, in order to shield itself from future sanctions and get much-needed foreign investment.

A bi-partisan coalition in Congress is campaigning to recruit enough supporters for new sanctions that can override a presidential veto. Iran says talks would be suspended if that happens.

This team has sought legislation that would sanction Iranian energy, port, ship-building and shipping sectors and the foreign companies investing in them. It would also sanction those involved in certain commodities as well as the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting company and corrupt Iranian officials.

Transactions involving humanitarian goods would still be permitted, and Iranian officials who divert such supplies from the populace would also be sanctioned.

In 2010, Iran’s economy was in such bad shape that Iran had to cut Hezbollah’s budget by 40% in 2010. International sanctions enactedin July 2012 caused the Iranian currency to fall by 40% by October 2012. About $40 billion in revenue was lost that year alone.

The currency regained 15% in 2013 after President Rouhani was elected and the economy began steadily improving due to an estimated $20 billion in economic relief from the interim deal reached in November 2013. The figure does not include revenue generated from increased international business.

Now, Iran and other countries hostile to the U.S. are described as“panicking” because the price of oil has fallen to $80 a barrel and are not expected to rise anytime soon.

The price of oil has serious implications for the Iranian regime. Oil exports pay 60% of the budget and account for 85% of Iran’s export revenue. Some experts say the former percentage is significant higher. The New York Timesestimates that Iran’s oil revenue has fallen by about 60% since the sanctions were implemented.

Iran needs the price of oil to be at least $140 per barrel to fund its social services. Cutting those services could trigger giant protests, as former President Ahmadinejad experienced when he cut food and fuel subsidies. Social discontent could easily undermine Iran’s oil industry and regime stability even further. Approximately 90% of oil production is in the province of Khuzestan, which has an Arab-majority population with a history of challenging the regime.

Rising domestic consumption of fuel is another long-term problem for Iran.

Ahmadinejad and Rouhani curbed gasoline consumption by slashinggasoline subsidies that once accounted for 38% of the budget. The result is that petrol prices increased by 75% this year. Nonetheless, the trend will continue and domestic consumption will keep taking away export revenue.

“If [oil] prices were to decline, political power sustained by the quadrupling of government spending since 1999 may not be sustainable,” Dr. Stern’s study states.

The low price of oil is due to both OPEC’s decision not to cut production and increasing U.S. shale production. As a result, Saudi Aramco cut prices on sales to the U.S. and Asia. Saudi officials believethe price could fall to around $60 per barrel.

Saudi Arabia is the “only clear victor” in this scenario. The Saudis want to hurt Iran and Russia, as well as make U.S. shale production unprofitable by keeping prices low. The “fracking revolution” has thepotential to make America the world’s top oil producer, taking the title away from Saudi Arabia.

Russia, an ally of Iran and the pro-Iran Syrian regime, is also in trouble. The Russian finance minister said the state budget will have to be reviewed in light of the income shortfall. Economic analystspredict double-digit inflation in Russia and stagnation in oil production if the price drops more.

Oil exports account for about half of the Russian government’s budget. The Russian currency fell 19% against the dollar in recent months and is at its lowest value since the disintegration of the Soviet Union.

Lowered oil prices also damages the Iraqi government, which isworking closely with Iranian-sponsored terrorists and militias. The Iranians had hoped that increased Iraqi oil production would allow the two countries to overpower Saudi Arabia in determining OPEC policy.

A nuclear deal, even a temporary one, could allow Iran to bring in Western companies to address these issues. Indeed, the regime is already entertaining visits from Western businesses in anticipation of that scenario.

This investment in Iran would not only help solve all these problems, it would decrease the likelihood of significant international sanctions in the future. Moreover, foreign investment in Iran will increase the stability of the regime and the likelihood that it will obtain nuclear weapons capabilities.

The time to act is now.

A combination of low oil prices, a reinstatement of the suspended sanctions and the enactment of new, tougher sanctions would maximize pressure on the Iranian regime like never before. The world would know if Iran will ever give up its ambitions for nuclear weapons capabilities.

At the very least, this combination would severely strain Iran’s financing of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, abusive intelligence and security forces as well as potentially destabilize the tyrannical regime overall.

]]>http://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/low-oil-prices-make-time-ripe-pressure-panicked-iran/feed/0ISIS: ‘Cool’ Image Winning Over Next Generation of Jihadishttp://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/islamic-state-winning-over-next-generation-jihadis
http://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/islamic-state-winning-over-next-generation-jihadis#commentsThu, 12 Feb 2015 16:59:08 +0000http://www.ryanmauro.com/?p=174The Islamic State is winning over the next generation of Sunnijihadists for two main reasons: Success and “coolness.” Many Islamic State supporters are foul-mouthed, highly sarcastic rappers and gamers who

]]>The Islamic State is winning over the next generation of Sunnijihadists for two main reasons: Success and “coolness.” Many Islamic State supporters are foul-mouthed, highly sarcastic rappers and gamers who mesh their Islamist ideology with their affection for Western culture.

None of this is what comes to mind when you think of jihadists, who usually express hatred for Western culture, viewing it as a corrupting influence.

If current trends persist, Al-Qaeda will become known as “your father’s terrorist group,” an organization that has gone out-of-style.

The first American member of the Islamic Stae to be killed was Douglas McAuthur McCain. He wanted to be a rapper and tweeted about smoking marijuana. Friends described him as a jokester. Derogatory remarks and cursing flowed on his Twitter account long after he became religious. He expressed hatred for white people after watching The Help, a 2011 film about the Civil Rights era.

The British citizen suspected of being the Islamic State’s beheader of American journalist James Foley, Abdel Majed Abdel Bary, also wanted to be a famous rapper and filled his lyrics with cursing. He made music videos, using a Western band’s background track in one of them.

In one song, Bary expressed how he was angry enough to kill after his father was arrested. His father, Adel Abdel Bary, was a senior Al-Qaeda member arrested in the United Kingdom for his involvement in the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa. Bary expressed admiration for his father in a rap song, saying “give me the pride and the honor like my father.”

The jihadist use of entertainment and artistic expression mostly associated with Western culture isn’t new, but the Islamic State brings it to a whole new level.

]]>Clarion Project National Security Analyst Ryan Mauro talks to Bill O’Reilly about five Islamist radical groups in America: Muslims of the Americas; Dar al-Hijrah Islamic Center; the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA); Masjid at-Taqwa led by Siraj Wahhaj and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).

]]>Clarion Project National Security Analyst Ryan Mauro appears on “Lou Dobbs Tonight” on FOX Business Network to discuss radical Islamic groups in America, specifically the Islamberg headquarters of Muslims of the Americas and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).

]]>http://www.ryanmauro.com/ryan-mauro-lou-dobbs-tonight-islamist-groups-america/feed/0Kelly File: Jimmy Carter Speaks for Muslim Brotherhood Tied Grouphttp://www.ryanmauro.com/kelly-file-jimmy-carter-speaks-muslim-brotherhood-tied-group/
http://www.ryanmauro.com/kelly-file-jimmy-carter-speaks-muslim-brotherhood-tied-group/#commentsWed, 11 Feb 2015 17:54:43 +0000http://www.ryanmauro.com/?p=202National security analyst Ryan Mauro breaks the story on “The Kelly File” about former President Jimmy Carter speaking at the annual conference of an Islamist group with a radical history

]]>National security analyst Ryan Mauro breaks the story on “The Kelly File” about former President Jimmy Carter speaking at the annual conference of an Islamist group with a radical history and speaker lineup.m.

]]>Clarion Project national security analyst Ryan Mauro debates Nezar Hamze of CAIR-Florida about whether the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is linked to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. The discussion follows the United Arab Emirates’ designation of CAIR and Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist groups.

]]>http://www.ryanmauro.com/ryan-mauro-debates-cair-council-american-islamic-relations-linked-muslim-brotherhood/feed/0Ryan Mauro on “Hannity:” We’re Instituting Sharia on Ourselveshttp://www.ryanmauro.com/ryan-mauro-hannity-instituting-sharia/
http://www.ryanmauro.com/ryan-mauro-hannity-instituting-sharia/#commentsWed, 11 Feb 2015 17:14:06 +0000http://www.ryanmauro.com/?p=200Clarion Project National Security Analyst Ryan Mauro tells Sean Hannity that the attacks in Paris were designed to intimidate the West into implementing Sharia blasphemy laws on itself. This is

]]>Clarion Project National Security Analyst Ryan Mauro tells Sean Hannity that the attacks in Paris were designed to intimidate the West into implementing Sharia blasphemy laws on itself. This is part of an hour-long panel on radical Islam.